Wait, did that ad really suggest that black men should “re-civilize” themselves?

In recent days, we’ve enjoyed hearing, reading and writing about many of the incredibly dumb statements made of late by some people who claim to be Presidential candidates. In wandering around online news outlets, we came across a shocking ad from the Germany based skin-care folks at Nivea. The ad is quite simply, too dumb to be believed. In fact, the ad is actually quite racist.

The advertisement, which reportedly only appeared once in the September issue of Esquire, shows a well dressed, well-groomed African-American man throwing away the decapitated head of unshaven black-man with full beard and Afro.

Esquire did publish a similar ad that showed a white man tossing away hairless head.

There was one other significant difference between the two ads: the one with the black man included the text: “RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF.”

The text in the ad with the white man read: “Sin City isn’t an excuse to look like hell.”

One can’t help but wonder about the different texts: Who could be so dumb? Who could so racist -in a major ad agency yet? In the marketing department of Nivea? How did the folks at Esquire let this ad get published?

Nivea has apologized for the ads which were created by the DraftFCB Agency. A visit to Nivea’s Facebook page gives the public a chance to share their….ummmm…. thoughts, and receive a canned, automated response:

We appreciate all of your comments and feedback regarding the recent “Re-civilized” NIVEA FOR MEN ad. Our company values diversity and equal opportunity, and it was never our intent to offend anyone. We have ceased placing the ad in media everywhere.

We don’t know if they will actually be thrown, but undoubtedly, some heads will roll for this.

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The Guy Behind the Tent of Abraham

Mitch Gilbert is a social worker, writer, and religious educator. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he has done community development work in Washington DC, Cleveland, Akron, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. Mitch earned a BA at Brooklyn College (CUNY), a Master of Science in Social Administration degree from Case Western Reserve University. In addition, Mitch has done graduate studies in Jewish tradition, history, and culture at New York University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Mitch is actively involved with in progressive causes and organizations that advance human rights, protect animals and save the environment. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.